


Watari Shinji's No-Good, Very Awkward, Sorta Revealing Week

by wayward_s



Series: Seijoh Week 2020! [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aromantic Asexual Watari Shinji, Asexual Kyoutani Kentarou, Character Study, Day 3: Second Years, Discussions of sexuality, Gen, Humour, Introspection, School Life Shenanigans, Second Years focus, Seijoh Week 2020, Watar is my Emotional Support Libero, and you bet imma run with it, i got a snippet of Watari being a Good Friend to Kyoutani, just dudes being bros, relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:00:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26229838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wayward_s/pseuds/wayward_s
Summary: Watari Shinji hates everything and everyone.Life is meaningless.If only he hadn’t opened hisdumb mouth.
Relationships: Kyoutani Kentarou & Watari Shinji
Series: Seijoh Week 2020! [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1903042
Comments: 6
Kudos: 52
Collections: Seijoh Week 2020





	Watari Shinji's No-Good, Very Awkward, Sorta Revealing Week

**_Monday_ **

It all starts with a harmless comment.

An off-hand remark.

Meaningless, really.

A conclusion wrapped in common sense that Shinji assumed people understood.

(But assumptions, he would learn that week, were always a dangerous thing.)

“There’s no harm in expressing your feelings with Fujikawa-san.”

The blond sitting on the opposite side of their small group huffs, almost dismissively. But the displeasure remained on his face. 

“If I try to talk to her about it then she’ll just dismiss me, or get angry with me.”

Shinji hums. “I mean, most people would have that type of reaction if you are aggressive about it. But you have to try and be mature with things like this. Like, you’re two different people with two different perspectives, but you both want this all to work out. Don’t overthink it and just be reasonable with how you talk to her. You’ll be fine.”

There’s a lull that falls over the group he's sitting with, clustered in the back corner of their classroom. The look of contemplation falls across the blond’s face as he absorbs the words, and nods his head slowly in one, simple bob.

And then the conversation moves on to other things. 

Shinji thinks nothing of it.

(He really should have.)

* * *

**_Tuesday_ **

There’s a murmur in the air as he walks from his shoe locker with his books for the next two periods.

And then he catches the eye of a couple walking side by side towards him, smiles wide in an almost comical way. 

“Watari-san!” The blond calls out with a grin, giving him a wave. “Thanks for the advice yesterday!” He lifts up their hands, which are wrapped together tightly. “It worked out, you were right!”

Shinji blinks, momentarily caught in a loop before he remembers the lunch break conversation. “Ah, yeah. Glad to help, I guess.”

And then they’re gone, fingers and palms tightening around each other while the rest of the people at the lockers turn to stare between them.

There’s a moment of silence before the familiar weight of Yahaba’s arm around his shoulders. “Morning.” Shinji greets, starting to walk towards the staircase that leads to the second year classrooms.

“Since when were you a Master with Romance?’

Shinji frowns, ignoring the way his spine tingles at the suggestion, all before turning his head to look at his teammate. “Huh?”

“You fixed the drama between Yamamoto and Fujikawa.”

“I just  _ talked _ to Yamamoto-kun.”

Yahaba’s hand tightens its hold on Shinji’s shoulder. “And three months of visible drama and tension just vanished in less than  _ one day _ .”

“I don’t understand why this is a big deal.”

Yahaba stares at him, point blank. “Fujikawa was going to break up with Yamamoto that afternoon. And they’re  _ still _ together. You basically saved that relationship from falling apart.”

“I just told them to  _ talk _ to each other.” Shinji shrugged. “It’s not that groundbreaking.”

“They were going in circles for a  _ while _ . It’s really impressive.”

“If anything it’s their hard work that should be commended.”

Yahaba scoffed, slipping his arm off Shinji’s shoulders. “Keep telling yourself that, Mr Miracle Worker.”

~~

It’s not until the start of his lunch break that Shinji realises he’s opened Pandora’s Box.

One of his other classmates, Satou, pulls a chair in front of Shinji’s desk and plops himself down, arms folding over the backrest. “I need your advice, Watari-kun.”

Shinji sits a little straighter in his chair, folding his hands on top of his books as he nods. “Sure, what’s wrong?”

“Y’know how Kanagawa-chan and I are dating?”

_ No. _

“Oh, yeah.”

“We kind of got into a fight and I’m trying to figure out a way to apologise.”

Shinji blinks, and sighs out a little puff of air from his nose. “I mean, you  _ are sorry _ , right?”

Satou hesitates.

“A good first step is to actually  _ mean  _ Kanagawa-san that you’re genuinely sorry and not just saying it because it’ll speed up the process. Sincerity goes a long way, Satou-san.”

The black-haired teen nods, almost emphatically at the response. “Huh, yeah, no that makes sense. She did seem pretty annoyed with my first apology.”

He bites his tongue.

_ Of course it makes sense, it’s basic human decency- _

“Thanks Watari-kun, I owe you one.”

As Satou leaves, another one of his classmates quickly fills the space. 

“Ah, Narita-san-”

“I think my boyfriend is cheating on me,” she says in a hurried whisper, “do you have any advice on how I can confront him about it?”

Shinji blinks, mouth open in a small ‘o’ as he tries to process the request.

_ That’s a heavy admission for a lunch break.  _

“I-I mean… If you’re really nervous then maybe having a mutual third party mediate might be good? Just so it gives you peace of mind and a layer of safety. Or y’know. Just talking to him in regards to your concerns in a way that is non-accusatory so you don’t antagonize him. It  _ could _ be a misunderstanding, and if in the chance it is then you wouldn’t want to have that strain. I guess, just talk to him in the way you would want to be addressed about this.”

Narita nods and scampers away, leaving Shinji reeling from the encounter.

But he isn’t given long to rest.

Not when another classmates sits themselves down in front of him with a desperate look in their eye.

(“How do I get girls to like me back?” 

Shinji fights down the sigh that burbles in his throat.

_ You’re asking the wrong person. _

“Be yourself.”

“Tried that.”

_ Well damn, I don’t know. _

“What’s the point of investing your time in someone that doesn’t like you for  _ you _ ? That’s shallow and pointless.”)

And his break continues on like that.

Shinji inhales deeply at every new encounter, but greets them with a strained smile that he prays comes off as sincere.

He just wants to eat his lunch.

* * *

** _Wednesday_ **

The bar is set so low.

_ So very low _ .

Watari Shinji had lost faith in humanity.

From the moment he arrived at school that morning, people hounded him about their troubles and vyed for his attention in an attempt to get him to focus on them.

It wasn’t as though the questions were necessarily bothering him either. Shinji agreed with the idea that sometimes you needed a new perspective in order to make sense of a situation, or even determine where you personally stood on an issue. 

Telling people that they needed to  _ talk _ to each other, however, was not the type of advice he should be giving.

_ Because talking to people was an inherent part of existence and how the  _ _ hell _ _ did these people get this far without talking- _

Sadly for Shinji, the advice wasn’t the worst part of his situation.

It was the  _ attention _ .

He had always been perfectly content with coasting through the background. He wasn’t a leader in the traditional sense, nor did he thrive off publicity and press in the same way some other people he knew did. And even if people  _ did _ pay attention to him, he preferred if it were for something worthwhile-

“Watacchi~ Since when did you have a fanclub?”

Shinji flinches, involuntarily, at how sudden and close Oikawa suddenly is.

Case and point - attention would be fine if it wasn’t from girls who now desperately wanted to date a ‘Nice and Kind Guy like (Watar-kun)’.

_ (Again, the bar was set so fucking low.) _

He smiles at his captain, reaching back to scratch at the nape of his neck. 

“A-Ah, it’s nothing, really. Just classmates being nice and all.”

Oikawa shakes his head, the tips of his curls bouncing while he tutts his tongue at him. “ He slings an arm around him, his smile going from polite to a conspiratory grin. “

The word alone fills him with such dread, that Shinji forces himself not to groan or run away.

Oikawa-senpai means well, he knows that. 

And it’s not his fault that offering his help in the romance department is his default response. A lot of people would do the same.

It’s just unfortunate for him that Watari Shinji has never  _ one _ thought about anyone in that light. 

Ever. 

A deafening  _ bang _ fills the court, and for a moment Shinji’s heart stops at the same time Oikawa flinches. It takes a moment for him to register that the sound had come from the volleyball now bouncing at his feet. 

And that said ball had  _ barely grazed  _ the top of his head.

“Mad Dog-chan! You almost took out my nose!” Oikawa chides, and though he’s still using his usual playful tone, there’s an underlying anger that Shinji senses. 

The libero looks to the other side of the gym to where the aforementioned spiker is standing. He’s wound tight, like a compressed spring, but he doesn’t acknowledge what their captain has said. Instead he sneers and turns away, going to retrieve another ball before Iwaizumi stops him in his tracks, a hand grabbing at the collar of his shirt so he can get lectured properly by the other upperclassmen. 

“Are you alright, Watacchi?”

“Huh, oh yeah. Fine.” He assures, removing himself from Oikawa’s grasp. “Thanks for the dating help offer though, Oikawa-senpai. We have to focus on beating Shiratorizawa and going to Nationals, after all.” 

It’s not a  _ complete _ lie. 

He really does want to focus on getting to Nationals, and overall honing his skills as a libero in order to support Yahaba in the year to come.

But Shinji knows that opening the real can of worms that is “I have never, at all, been interested in anything remotely related to sex or relationships, please leave me alone before I scream” is something he really shouldn’t do.

_ Especially _ in front of one of the people he knew had a slight inclination to the more normative aspects of human behaviour.

(The word  _ broken _ lingers in the corners of his mind.

He tries to swat it away.)

“If that’s what you want, Watacchi. But if  _ you _ ever need advice then you can always come to me, ok~”

He gives his captain a thumbs up.

He  _ really _ regrets ever opening his mouth.

* * *

** _Thursday_ **

Watari Shinji hates everything and everyone.

Life is meaningless.

If only he hadn’t opened his _dumb_ _mouth_.

He knew that his whole “Be Nice To People” schtick would get him into trouble at some point. But never did he think that it would ever concern the one thing he never really wanted to air out to the public. 

Sexuality is a pain to explain. 

And therein lay his main problem. 

If he doesn’t  _ explain _ his disposition, people assume he is heterosexual. And even if he  _ did _ explain everything to people, the likelihood that they would understand was slim.

And Shinji didn’t know if he had the mental capacity to put up with the tried and true responses he knew he would get if he tried to explain things.

Not after the week he’d been through.

So when he catches Kyoutani pushing past the girls clambering near the club room to talk to Shinji, he thinks he’s imagining things.

He wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d finally lost his mind, really. 

Shinji isn’t sure if he’s imagined the sight of a black band on Kyoutani’s finger; a mixture of fatigue from their intense practice and the onslaught of people that have been hounding him during every break about relationship and romance advice. 

But it’s a life line, and  _ God _ , Shinji will take whatever he’s given at this point.

“Kyoutani-kun!” The name leaves Shinji’s mouth before he can stop himself. “You needed help with literature homework right? Let’s go!”

Kyoutani doesn’t do much other than look over his shoulder once and nod. He keeps walking away from the clubroom and back towards the front of the school.

Whether or not he recognised the SOS in Shinji’s eyes was something he didn’t have the energy to consider.

Nor did he care, really. 

(If he got punched and died then, well, that’d be fine with him.)

Instead, Shinji spat out a quick apology to the girls that were waiting for him before tearing up the path to catch up with the lone wolf of their team. 

He doesn’t say anything more than the spiker’s name as he approaches, nor does the spiker really  _ acknowledge _ Shinji’s presence as he occupies the spot on his left. Which is fine. Great, really. 

(Shinji actually prefers not having someone’s eyes on him.)

It’s quiet as they exit the school, not bothering to wait for the rest of the team before they duck into a little alley further down the block from the school. A moment of reprieve, to let Shinji breathe and understand.

They stand opposite each other in the alley, the setting sun barely peeking out from around the bricks of the two buildings they are hidden between.

“You-”

Kyoutani nods, wordless, lifting his right hand to show off the black band adorning his middle finger. It’s a thick, matte ring, with a few chips from where Shinji thinks he’s knocked into something. There’s a weight lifted from his shoulders as he confirms that yes, he did see that ring and no, he hadn’t imagined it and  _ no, you aren’t alone anymore Shinji _ -

“Since  _ when _ ?” He asks, a little more eager than he originally intended.

It doesn’t perturb Kyoutani. The blond shrugs.

“Last year. Maybe.”

It takes all of Shinji’s strength not to crumple on the floor.

Kyoutani only joined the volleyball team  _ this year _ .

“Didn’t really have a word for it.” He continues, voice low as he grumbles along, forcing Shinji to strain and listen to him. “Just thought I was weird or whatever. Broken. Made sense, m’not good at much else. And then my sister told me that I wasn’t. And things have been easier, kinda.”

Shinji nods, sympathetic as the strain registers on the blond’s face for a half second before it gives way to apathy. “It must have been hard for you, huh?”

“You too?”

It’s the first time Shinji has heard something softer in Kyoutani’s voice, and it makes him smile, just knowing that the infamous Mad Dog has let his guard down for someone as insignificant as Watari Shinji.

“Yeah,” he hums with a nod, “asexual and aromantic.”

It’s Kyoutani’s turn to nod. 

“How’d you figure it out?” Shinji doesn’t miss the interest that hides beneath Kyoutani’s words, even if he speaks with his usual low timbre.

He pauses, running his tongue along his bottom row of teeth as he mulls the thought over.

“I mean… Once you have the word to describe it, everything just  _ clicks _ , right?” Shinji sighs, pressing his back up against the brick wall behind him. “I never thought about sex or relationships until someone mentioned them to me. And I don’t really see anything like that in my inevitable future.”

“But you’ve been giving out advice.” Kyoutani observes, and it makes Shinji groan in dissatisfaction.

“Is it really advice if you’re just saying ‘How about you try  _ talking _ about your problems?’?”

For a moment, Shinji thinks that he got a laugh out of the normally stone faced Kyoutani Kentarou, but whatever amusement appeared on his features disappeared just as quickly.

Instead, Kyoutani grunts in confirmation, a brief flash of a memory behind his eyes. “I dunno if I wanna get into a relationship or whatever. Doesn’t really interest me. But then some days I think maybe I do. But then I think I’m dumb for thinking too much into it.”

“I understand how you feel. It took awhile for me to completely settle on the romantic attraction thing.” Shinji laughs, just a little. “Guess one of the good things to come out of this whole week was that I could learn I  _ really _ don’t care about that type of stuff, for anyone, really.”

Kyoutani snorts, almost to himself, before there’s a newfound determination in his eyes. 

“But Oikawa’s bullshit yesterday? With the whole ‘getting you a girlfriend’ thing?” The spiker clicks his tongue in distaste, “If he tries it again, I’ll punch him for you.”

A surge of panic floods through Shinji’s veins as he waves his hands at his teammate. “I can handle Oikawa-”

“S’not right.” Kyoutani reiterates, hands balling into fists so tight that his tanned knuckles bleed white for a moment. “You shouldn’t let him push you around n’try and convince to do something you don’t wanna do.”

He pauses, top lip twitching upwards as Shinji watches him form the argument in his mind.

“S’already hard enough to tell yourself that you are fine the way you are when everyone else doesn’t understand you. That you don’t need the same things everyone else seems to want. S’not right to have someone you respect disregard your feelings for the sake of what they think is right or normal. And if they do, I think you can tell someone to fuck off.”

He levels their gazes.

Kyoutani has a point.

(A sentence Shinji admits he’d never thought he’d think or say.)

In the distance, he can hear Oikawa calling out for him. 

Shinji, instead of responding, groans.

Kyoutani pushes himself away from the wall and juts his chin further down the alleyway. “I know a second entrance to the station if you don’t wanna deal with him.”

Shinji doesn’t confirm or deny the offer, instead he trails alongside the spiker as he starts walking down through the backstreets surrounding their school.

And for a moment, Shinji can forget.

* * *

** _Friday_ **

For the first time this week, Shinji feels vaguely  _ okay _ . 

Yes, there was still the school-wide consus that Watari Shinji was a Romantic and Deserved-To-Find-Someone-As-Nice-As-Him.

But to his relief (and to Yahaba’s horror) Kyoutani hung around him during breaks, grumbling something about tutoring and studying all while shoving a stack of papers into his hands to look at.

(They were blank, but Shinji could make do with continuing his lie.)

And it was nice having the silent spiker around - even if it forced him to act as a human shield in Shinji’s honour. 

Above all else, it was a comforting reminder. Kyoutani was close - physically and metaphorically - which was more than what Shinji could say about other people in his life. 

“Oi.” 

Shinji whips his head around, tension easing from his shoulders when he realises its Kyoutani approaching him. Practice was long over, and while the spiker had been enough of a deterrent through the day, he wasn’t sure if it would work as a stopper for the long run.

Kyoutani nudges Shinji’s shoulder, holding out a small fabric bag, strings drawn and tied around the opening to secure it. There’s a second of nothing before Kyoutani nudges him again, shaking the bag once as a signal for him to take.

So he does.

But not without question.

“What’s this?”

He doesn’t give him an answer, instead he stares down at the bag and then back up to Shinji’s face.

The libero moves to undo the string and look inside.

The corner of his lip twitches up.

A black ring, nothing dissimilar to the once Kyoutani was wearing on the middle finger of his right hand, sat at the bottom. 

“M’Older sister is a jeweller. She made my one. This one was the first one she made n’it was too small for me.”

When Shinji looks up, there’s a sense of peace on Kyoutani’s face.

“Lemme know if it’s too small. I can get another one for you.”

He frowns, shaking his head. “You don’t have to do it.”

“Want to.” He answers. “I like having the reminder. You do too. Probably. S’nice affirmation… That’s what my sister said, at least.”

Shinji makes a mental note to meet the elder Kyoutani and profusely thank her.

_ God where has someone like her been all my life? _

“How much? I’ll pay you back?”

Kyoutani shrugs, head twitching to the right. “S’fine.” 

“I have to-”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I’ll do extra training with you then.”

“S’fi-”

“Or actual tutoring. Take your pick. I’ll help however I can.”

He set his gaze on the spiker, firm, unrelenting.

And while Shinji isn’t the most intimidating person (especially not to someone like Kyoutani Kentarou), he likes to think he has his moments.

“Tutoring.” Kyoutani mumbles as he turns away from Shinji to start walking towards the station. “Need help with exams coming up.”

“Sure, we can start tomorrow?” Shinji laughs as he jogs up to keep pace. 

Kyoutani nods, wordless, but slows down his strides to match. 

It makes Shinji grin. The final tendrils of dread that had clung to him finally easing their hold.

**Author's Note:**

> yes i will continue to pull my AroAce!Watari and Ace!Kyoutani agenda until i die. sometimes you gotta write your own representation.


End file.
